


Crown My Life With Abundance

by Marlon



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Eventual Romance, Kidnapping, M/M, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 13:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20390284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marlon/pseuds/Marlon
Summary: One minute you're at school working on your dissertation, the next, you're thrown into the back of a van and when you come to, a bizarre, eccentric forest god is sitting on your chest rambling on about how you're the chosen one. Kylo's day just went from bad to weird in a flash.





	Crown My Life With Abundance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phonysmile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phonysmile/gifts).

> Thanks to twitter friend @smolpuffs for this idea! It started with a movie trailer and turned into "what if the cult of antler Hux kidnaps Kylo off the street!" but, I think it turned out rather sweeter than they were intending.
> 
> Please know, that although Kylo is kidnapped by Hux's cult, nothing non-consensual happens to Kylo. Armitage is more of a bad roommate than anything, eating all Kylo's food and using up all the hot water. I would never hurt either of them.
> 
> Update: now featuring colourful and beautiful art by Xylavie!

Kylo hoists his messenger bag onto his shoulder as he zips up his gray hoodie. Thursday night yoga class was, for some, a relaxing affair, but Kylo always found it invigorating. Especially at the end of a long week of school.

Tonight, however, he’d been distracted. He’d skipped his usual pre-workout meal and paid for it - all through the class, he’d focused on nothing but the delicious curry he was going to get on his way home. His stomach rumbles at the thought of it even now.

A sharp snick and a flash of light from across the street catches his attention. A hooded figure leans slumped against the metal garage door of the closed shop, the bright ember of the lit cigarette glows deeply as they take a long drag.

Kylo’s phone chirrups then, and he digs around for it in his pocket, the smoking figure forgotten as he strides down the pavement texting Rey and mentally deciding between the fish or lamb curry for dinner.

\----

“Did you hear me?” Rey asks, flapping her hand in his general direction.

Kylo pulls his glance away from the large picture window in the front of Finn’s parents’ bookshop. Flamel’s Books and Curiosities is a local landmark in Cecil Court, it had been in Finn’s family for generations. They didn’t sell many curiosities now, mostly just books, but there is a rack of clever greeting cards and tote bags stamped with the faces of famous authors by the front door. And the bookshop has a grumpy and mysterious orange cat named Millie, who rarely shows herself, hates everyone but small children and Rey.

Finn himself is behind the till today, covering for his parents while they’re off on a short holiday. Finn’s full name is Fintan Flamel but he’ll only admit that under pain of torture. He grudgingly allowed Rey to introduce him that way when she first brought Kylo around to meet him.

“Fintan Flamel,” He’d lamented. “What were my parent’s thinking? They must have wanted me to be an outcast.”

“I like it,” Rey said. “It rolls off the tongue. Fintan Flamel.” She threw her hands wide as she pronounced the name with an exaggerated accent ending with a flourishing gesture.

“I sound like a ringmaster for some weird circus.”

Kylo had liked Finn immediately. He had a serious yet easy-going way about him that endeared him to everyone and you always had the vague sense that things were going to be okay whenever he spoke. And Kylo suspected that Finn was the only person capable of keeping up with Rey. They were a good match.

“Kylo?” Rey says again. “Are you there?”

“Hmm?” Kylo pulls his gaze away from the window again.

He watches as a trio of darkly-dressed figures glides by the bookshop. Odd, he thought, to be dressed in heavy jackets, hoodies, and large scarves that obscure their faces when the weather is unusually warm for spring. Everyone else who walks by the window is dressed for summer already.

“We’re going to go to the cinema tonight since it’s so hot,” Rey says.

“The new Spider-Man,” Finn adds, reaching over to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Rey’s ear. “Air conditioning and popcorn, how can you say no to that?”

Kylo grins. “I would but I have class this afternoon and I want to try to get something done on my next chapter, I’m supposed to have a draft ready soon.”

Rey looks disappointed but not surprised.

“When can we start calling you ‘Dr. Ren’?” Finn says with a grin.

“Not for another couple of years, at least.”

Kylo’s attention is snagged again by another curiously hooded figure on the pavement outside. Finn and Rey’s chatter fades to a buzz as he watches the person drift by. Surely it’s not one from the same group that went by earlier?

“Well, okay, if not the cinema,” Rey says, her voice coming into focus as Kylo turns away from the window. “Dad is going to make his famous veggie burgers tomorrow night, will you come for dinner?”

Kylo gathers his bag and jacket as he prepares to leave for class. “Maybe, if I can. Text me about it later?”

Rey nods her agreement as Kylo wraps her up in a one-armed hug, the other holding his coat and messenger bag. Finn slaps his hand into Kylo’s, giving him a hearty handshake before having to turn his attention to an approaching customer. Kylo slips out the door to the bookshop, the brass bells above the door tinkling merrily.

\----

After class, Kylo holes up in his tiny cramped office to try and get something accomplished with his dissertation. For the most part, the writing of it had been progressing well, he’d just felt a little burnt out after the last semester so his productivity had waned.

The sun is just beginning to set as he turns the corner onto his street, the sky overhead painted in soft pinks and brilliant golds. A white van is parked in the middle of the street ahead, which, given that both sides of the street are lined with parked cars, isn’t that unusual. The small bodega across from Kylo’s townhouse did get deliveries at all times of the day and night.

His phone pings with a reminder to return some books to the library tomorrow. As he fumbles with his phone to dismiss the pop-up message, he fails to see the pedestrian coming towards him. They collide, spinning Kylo around and causing him to drop his phone. He dives down to scoop it up from the pavement and with a glare at the retreating figure, turns to continue to his house.

He slams into someone else and a chemical-soaked rag is clamped over his nose and mouth before he hardly has time to react. The figure who’d knocked into him a moment ago is back, snatching his bag from his shoulder and the two of them together hustle him into the idling van.

The last thing he sees before he passes out is a gang of darkly-cloaked figures swarming him.

\----

It’s dark when Kylo comes to. So dark, he worries that he’s injured in some way. His head is pounding with the residue of the chloroform and there’s an unpleasant burning smell in his nose. He lifts his head groggily and a jolt of fear wracks his body.

The shadowy figures are still here, surrounding him now in a wide circle. Behind them, tall pyres are lit, throwing weird and haunted shapes across the clearing. Kylo can vaguely see that it’s fully night, the stars spatter the sky above him, and he appears to be in a forest.

His muscles bunch for flight but he’s tied tightly to some sort of raggedly-hewn stone altar and a whimper escapes his throat as he glances, wide-eyed around the circle of silent figures.

“What the fuck is this?” He tries to shout, but it comes out garbled as the weird cultists have not only bound his arms and legs but gagged him as well.

The forest falls eerily silent as the obscured figures begin to chant, their voices swell in the chilled air. Kylo’s heart is hammering painfully in his chest as he tries in vain to spit out the gag. He can’t believe this is how he’s going to die, sacrificed by some weirdo new age cult in the forest.

He thrashes around on the altar, trying to loosen the cords binding his outstretched arms and legs as the singing increases in pitch and volume. Hot tears slip down his cheeks and soak into the cloth of the gag and he slumps back against the cold stone with a sob.

The chanting cuts off abruptly and a complete and total silence rules the forest for a moment. Then comes the snap of a branch, a rustle of a body passing through the brush. Something big is making its way towards them.

A hulking, shadowy shape breaks through the trees with a rumble. It shambles through the circle of fire and Kylo has only a second to make out a large set of antlers on a terrifying death’s head before the creature has passed through the fire and into the circle. The cultists quickly melt away into the shadows, leaving Kylo to his fate.

Kylo screams into the gag and arches wildly, trying to get away from the beast. The thing ascends the short steps to the altar and slides its filthy hand up Kylo’s bare chest. He shivers and tries to pull away. The dark beast leans down, laughing its fetid breath into Kylo’s face and he’s horrified to see the mouth slits open almost ear to ear. The large rack of antlers has strips of velvet hanging off them as well as branches and other debris tangled in the points. Everywhere the beast trails his fingers and breathes its breath leaves a horrid patina of filth on Kylo. The thing leans down in a gross pantomime of a kiss, its jaw almost unhinging as it sways closer.

Kylo wretches into the sodden cloth gag and then blacks out and knows no more.

\----

Again, Kylo comes to, blinking heavily in the low light.

He’s still alive.

His throat is raw from screaming and his limbs feel leaden, but he’s alive.

Wearily, he lifts his head and a mixture of fear and surprise ripple through him when he sees a tall, lithe man sitting with his back to him on the edge of the altar between his spread legs. The man has one long leg pulled up to his chest and he’s stacked his hands and chin on his knee, gazing placidly out at the pitch black of the night beyond the slowly dying fires. And he’s naked, his skin glowing a soft gold in the light.

Kylo groans as his head throbs and this draws the man’s attention toward him. He turns and Kylo glimpses a surprisingly youthful face, large green eyes and shaggy red hair. The antlers are still there, only they’ve morphed into a smaller set, more like a regular deer and not some nightmare creature that would use them to rend Kylo limb from limb.

A bright smile blooms across the man’s face once he sees that Kylo is awake. He scrambles up onto the altar and crawls up Kylo’s body to sit across Kylo’s hips. He obligingly removes the gag as Kylo shakes his head from side to side, trying to spit out the wet rag.

“What the absolute fuck is going on.” Kylo screeches, shrill and hysterical, once he has his voice back.

The man beams at him again and loosely clasped his hands in his lap. “I am sorry it was all so dramatic.” His voice reverbs unpleasantly inside Kylo’s head and he shakes his head trying to dislodge it. “My acolytes do love a spectacle.”

“I don’t give a shit about that.” He spits. “Let me go.”

“I’m afraid not, my love, you’ve been chosen.” The odd man wiggles in delight causing Kylo’s back to grind against the stone uncomfortably. “My acolytes have finally found you! They searched for so long. You’re chosen, out of all people, to be my companion.”

“What the fuck,” Kylo twists his hips wildly, trying to unseat the man. “I’m not going to be your weird forest bride, just kill me and get it over with.”

“Oh hush.” The man says, rising to his hands and knees he looms over Kylo, their faces close as he hisses into Kylo’s face. “I could drag you off to Oweynagat right now, but I won’t.” He sits back onto Kylo’s hips with a huff. “It’s not the season for that anyway.”

Kylo exhales sharply as the man reseated himself. “God, you’re heavy.”

“How dare you!”

The outraged tone takes Kylo by surprise. A hysterical giggle bubbles out of him which causes the man to look delighted.

“Untie me,” Kylo says again, pulling at his bonds. “I won’t run.”

The man rolls his enormous green eyes. “You’re a bad liar but no matter, you can’t get away from me.”

With a snap of his fingers, the cords lashing Kylo to the altar break and Kylo struggles to sit, rubbing at the raw red marks on his wrists. The man wiggles back to sit on Kylo’s thighs.

“What was all that before?” Kylo shapes his hands into claws. “Why come out with the horrible nightmare creature instead of this?” He gestures to all of the man’s body. “You’d get better results, probably.”

“Oh, that,” The man dismisses it with a flick of his fingers. “It’s just glamour for show, to impress my followers. They do so love the pageantry of it all.” He shakes his head. “These so-called new Druids are all flash, they don’t truly understand the old ways. But, good help is hard to find these days.”

“For fuck…” Kylo cuts himself off as his shoulders slump. The adrenaline has fled his body, leaving him exhausted. “What are you, then?” Kylo asks, curious despite himself and in the absence of imminent death. “Some sort of fairy or forest sprite?”

The man snorts a very deer-like snort. “My name is Armitage, I’m a forest guardian, one of the old gods.”

“Right.” Kylo drawls, unconvinced. “And what do you want with me, am I supposed to serve you?”

Armitage draws back with his hands clasped to his chest, affronted. “Not like that!” He slips his long fingers around Kylo’s wrists. “We’re all supposed to have companions, the augur interpreted the signs and said it was my time, and the haruspex said to look for a tall man with a glass face. So that’s precisely what my acolytes did.”

“What do you mean ‘a glass face’?” Kylo is intrigued now, nearly forgetting that he’s sitting on an altar in the dead of night practically holding hands with a forest being.

Armitage reaches up to brush Kylo’s hair off his forehead, then he gently pinches Kylo’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, examining him closely.

“Your face,” He said. “It’s remarkably open, you can’t hide anything you’re feeling. Your face and eyes betray you. Like now - you’re afraid, but you’re also curious.”

“Alright.” Kylo jerks his chin out of Armitage’s grasp. He hates feeling this exposed. “Now what?”

“Well, for a start, I can already tell this will be a good partnership. Look.”

Armitage holds up Kylo’s hands so that Kylo can see the faint lattice-work of gold lines snaking around each wrist like a tattoo. The gold is very faint, indeed it is only visible when Armitage gently turns Kylo’s arms towards the firelight. The gold lines wrap around both wrists in a series of complicated and intricate Celtic-style knotwork. Under other circumstances, Kylo would be impressed.

“What is that supposed to tell me?” Kylo frowns down at the barely-there swirls and lines adorning his skin.

“Only that we’re compatible,” Armitage says, beaming at him.

“Look, I can’t live here in the forest or in a fairy mound with you,” Kylo says as he tugs his hands from Armitage's. “I’ve got school, family, and obligations and things.”

Overhead, the sky has faded from velvety blue-black to pale blue. The first streaks of the morning sun arch faintly across the sky in pale pink and gold. The pyres are now mostly out as the weak morning light filters into the clearing. From within the trees, the early-rising birds begin to sing.

“Of course you won’t be living here,” Armitage says as he leaps off Kylo’s lap, landing lightly on his toes. He snaps the cords binding Kylo’s legs to the altar. “We shall go now.”

Kylo bolts up from the stone altar, stumbling slightly as the feeling returns to his legs. He flies towards the edge of the clearing, not caring that he’s left behind his shirt, jacket, bag, and his apparent betrothed.

He hears Armitage sigh heavily moments before he slams into an invisible barrier beyond the ashy remains of the pyres. With a snap of his fingers, Armitage reels him back and he walks with stilted steps back towards the altar, where Armitage is leaning. With a wave of his hand, Armitage forces him to kneel. Bending down gracefully, Armitage slips his finger beneath Kylo’s chin.

“I know you didn’t choose this, it is the will of the gods, but I promise it won’t be all bad.” He releases the pressure on Kylo’s shoulders and helps him to his feet. “Now, let’s leave the forest. I’m sure you still have questions.”

Kylo clambers to his feet and accepts his clothing and bag from Armitage with bad grace. Grumbling to himself, he yanked on his shirt and jacket and with a glare in Armitage’s direction, makes an exaggerated and ridiculous bow.

“Fine, let’s go, your godship.”

Armitage steps lively as he leads Kylo out of the forest, the delighted smiles never once wavering from his face. 

\----

Amazingly, they manage to make it back to Kylo’s townhouse without incident. Kylo would have thought that a pair such as them would draw attention, but apparently a naked antler man and one clothed, pissed-off man is no cause for comment on the early morning streets.

Once safely inside, Kylo leads Armitage to the kitchen so he can collapse heavily into a chair. He slumps forward exhausted. The headache from earlier in the night has returned with a vengeance, needling its way into his brain from between his eyes. And he’s dreadfully thirsty.

Armitage, to Kylo’s dismay, is fascinated by everything in his home. He runs his green chlorophyll-stained fingertips over the tiled counter, making interested noises at everything he finds. Kylo briefly nods off and is only roused by the splash of water at the sink. Armitage stands at the sink in all his naked glory, turning off and on the water, splashing his hands in the water and marvelling at the temperature change from hot to cold.

“Stop that.” Kylo weakly admonishes. “Don’t waste the water.”

Armitage shrugs and moves around the kitchen, sniffing cautiously at the potted plants on the windowsill. He pulls open the fridge and gasps in delight, grabbing a bag of green grapes from the shelf inside.

“Hey, quit it.” Kylo lumbers to his feet, taking the bag of grapes from Armitage, ignoring the disappointed moan. “I need coffee, and then you better start talking.” He shoves the grapes back in the fridge and turns away to plug in the kettle. The fridge opens again one second later. “I said, quit it.” Glancing over his shoulder he sees that Armitage has dumped all the fruits and vegetables from the fridge onto the table and is eagerly devouring the grapes. “You’re making a mess.”

Armitage opens his mouth to retort when an urgent pounding sounds from the front door. Kylo rubs at his temples, groaning. This day keeps getting worse.

“Kylo! Are you home?” Rey’s high-pitched, worried voice booms through the solid wood of the door.

He gasps, looking around for his phone. He finds it, dead, tucked in an inside pocket of his messenger bag. The pounding on the door ceases suddenly, and Kylo remembers in a flash of stomach-dropping terror, that Rey has her own set of keys to the house. He grabs Armitage by the arm and hustles him away from the table and down the hall as Armitage tries in vain to steal one last handful of fruit. Kylo brings him into his bedroom.

“Just stay in here for a minute, okay, it’s very important.” Kylo buries his face in his hands as a scream threatens to escape his mouth as Armitage looks mutinous. “If you must come out, at least please put some clothes on-” he nods towards the bureau and the closet. “And hide the antlers.”

He turns and flies from the room, closing the bedroom door behind him just as the jingle of keys sounds in the lock. He reaches the door in time to pull it open to greet Rey’s worried face.

“Sorry, sorry,” He pants. “I was sleeping.”

“Where have you been?” She follows him to the kitchen and leans against the table as Kylo slumps back into his seat. She slowly glanced around at the piles of fruit and vegetables on the table. “Are you alright? I’ve been texting you all night, I was so worried.”

“Oh my god, Rey, I’m so sorry,” Kylo says as he slumps forward on the table, pillowing his head on his crossed arms. “I was out and my phone died and I didn’t realize it.”

“You were out?” She replies, incredulously. “You? Kylo Ren, went out? With who?”

“Ah,” He drawls, stalling for time. The soft click of the bedroom door opening accompanied by the stealthy pad of bare feet on floorboards puts all his senses on alert. Please be dressed, he chants to himself, please be dressed. “I was out with a friend.” He finishes lamely as Armitage swans back into the kitchen.

Kylo is relieved to see he is indeed wearing clothes, but he wishes Armitage had chosen more than just one of Kylo’s t-shirts. Granted, it does cover everything and falls to his mid-thigh like a mini dress but it doesn’t help that the shirt is too big and so slips alluringly off one dainty shoulder.

Although Armitage has managed to hide his antlers somehow, the ruddy golden glow of his skin and the silk-spun beauty of his rumpled hair makes it look like he’s been thoroughly tumbled. Kylo faceplants into the table again as Rey’s eyes widened to take in the glory that is his magical new friend.

“Rey, this is my friend Armitage.” He gestures weakly, not lifting his head from the table. “Armitage, my cousin Rey.”

“Charmed.” Armitage purrs as he sits down to continue working through the pile of fruit.

Rey smacks Kylo on the shoulder. “Oh my goddess, why didn’t you just tell me you had a date. Christ, I was so worried I nearly called the Garda.”

“It’s still new,” Kylo replies faintly. Armitage simply smiles, chewing through a mouthful of blackberries.

She glances between the two of them several times, her head swivelling so rapidly that Kylo starts to worry she’ll pull a muscle. She bites her lip then opens and closes her mouth several times before finally speaking.

“Well, don’t forget about dinner tonight.” She says, leaning down to press a kiss to Kylo’s head. She wrinkles her nose. “You smell gross, definitely have a shower before you come over.” She looks at Armitage over the top of Kylo’s head. “Armitage, you’re welcome for dinner as well, it’s just veggie burgers and salads and things.”

“I would be honoured to have dinner with you.” Armitage smiles politely, holding out a carton of strawberries to Rey. She takes one with a nod of thanks, a bemused smile quirking up her lips.

She ruffles Kylo’s hair. “We can talk later, Ky.”

He waved her off with a vague swipe of his hand across the table as she laughs. She nods to Armitage, scrutinizing him intensely for a second, then takes her leave. When the door has been safely latched and locked, Kylo oozes heavily out of the chair.

“I’m going to take a nap and then we’re going to sort this out.”

Armitage bounds to his feet and follows Kylo to the bedroom. “Your cousin can’t hide her feelings either, she is very suspicious of me.”

“I can’t imagine why that would be,” Kylo mutters to himself.

“She needn’t be,” Armitage says as he noses about Kylo’s bedroom, opening drawers and pawing through the small collection of knick-knacks on the bureau and bookshelf. “It’s now part of my duty to protect and care for you.”

Kylo sighs as he rolls his head back to stare at the ceiling. He’s so tired. No one in the history of the world has ever been as tired as he is at this moment.

“And what’s my duty to you?” He asks as he shucks all his clothes save for his black briefs.

Dumping the armful of clothing into the hamper, he crawls into bed, startled when Armitage follows and tucks himself into Kylo’s side.

“It will reveal itself in time,” Armitage mumbles into the blankets. “I’m not a seer, I have no idea how these things work, I just know that it does.”

Not knowing what else to do, Kylo wraps a tentative arm around the sleepy forest guardian and quickly follows him into his dreams.

\----

Armitage is right, there’s nothing Kylo can do about the situation. He’s stuck with this peculiar man in his life, for better or for worse. And to Kylo’s surprise and consternation, Armitage turns out to be an alarmingly sweet and loving companion. Not that anything untoward has happened, he hasn’t forced Kylo into any compromising positions beyond this weird companionship.

As it turns out, Armitage is more than just a simple forest guardian. He’s responsible for bringing on spring and summer as well as acting as a guardian and care-taker for all plant life. The tiny square of green space that is the garden at the back of Kylo’s townhouse begins to flourish like never before and soon the trees and shrubbery have grown so lush and verdant that they have reached higher than the fence, shielding the garden from the prying eyes of the neighbours.

Indeed, wherever Armitage walks in bare feet, flowers bloom. Kylo can always tell when he’s been busy at work in the garden making it bloom because small puddles of flowers dot the grassy patch in the shape of his long, narrow feet.

He expressly forbids Armitage from using the cooktop and oven when Kylo is at school, he can’t trust the ethereal being to actually remember to turn off the gas - one afternoon, Kylo returned home from school to find every light in the house blazing brightly, and every tap and showerhead gushing ice-cold water.

Kylo has determined that his role of ‘companion’ to the forest guardian includes simply being a friend to Armitage. He also suspects that his mere presence somehow amplifies the potency of Armitage's magic. He has nothing to base this on really, having no idea what magic Armitage possessed before they met, but judging by the explosion of plant life in and around the townhouse, he seems quite powerful. Wherever Armitage passes, trees and plants reach out their branches and tendrils to him, small animals congregate around him - there’s a particularly tenacious fox that likes to hang around the garden watching Armitage work with curious eyes.

Despite his initial nightmarish appearance, Armitage is generally ebullient and kind. He has a fondness for all green and growing things, small animals and children, and all the brightly coloured fruit Kylo can buy. Kylo has the impression that Armitage was rather lonely before and now, Armitage seems to overflow with abundance.

The presence of a forest spirit improves the growing ability of all the gardens within a twenty-mile radius of his townhouse, and Kylo’s elderly neighbour, Mrs. Batholomew, can’t help but waylay him every time she sees him to rave about the state of her garden and everyone else’s on the street.

The warm May weather gives way to a cooler, rainier June, and the trees and plants raise their faces to the sky in thanks. Kylo isn’t sure if Armitage controls the weather as well, at this point, nothing would surprise him. Since Armitage arrived in the neighbourhood, they’ve had storybook perfect weather for the time of year.

After Armitage has spent two months turning Kylo’s house upside down, Kylo starts inviting him to come to campus, which Armitage loves. He happily spends time in the many libraries on campus, devouring novels, journals, newspapers, and textbooks with equal fervour. But his real delight is saved for when Kylo brings him to one of two botanical gardens on campus. Armitage kisses him soundly on the mouth before kicking off his shoes and running off into the garden, flowers springing up in his wake.

Kylo simply shrugs as he watches him hare away, then gathers up the discarded red Converse sneakers and heads towards his office. Armitage always knows how to find him.

Later that summer, the gardiner wins a prize for the beauty of the school’s gardens and gets his picture on the front page of the university’s website.

\----

It’s a late September morning when things suddenly change. Kylo is in the kitchen on a Sunday morning, idly flipping through the headlines on his phone when a sob spills out of Armitage. Kylo hurries out to the garden to see Armitage kneeling beside one of the flowerbeds cradling something in his hands. He looks up when he hears Kylo approach and to Kylo’s horror, he sees that Armitage is holding one of his own antlers that have shed itself.

“Are you alright, babe, what’s happened?” He reaches down to help Armitage to his feet.

He looks strange with only one antler, lopsided. His eyes are glassy with unshed tears and as Kylo looks closely, he seems a bit paler than usual. In fact, he looks quite washed out. His skin has lost some of that ruddy glow and his hair looks bleached and straw-like. Armitage wraps his arms tightly around Kylo as he shakes.

“Come inside, love, I will explain it.” Armitage sniffs back tears. “There will be some changes.” 

\----

Armitage is a nuisance. He makes a mess of Kylo’s house, eats all of his food, uses up all of the hot water, and hogs the bed at night. Kylo’s few friends are either completely charmed by Armitage's odd ways and childlike delight at the world around him, or they are put off by his peculiar personality.

He’s a nuisance, but he’s Kylo’s nuisance. And he misses him dreadfully. He’s had time now to properly mull over what Armitage had said so many months earlier, that his job was to love and care for Kylo. And Kylo finds that he has been well-cared for and loved. Rey remarked several times over the past few months how much healthier Kylo had looked, that the spring in his step was a welcome change.

The day that he shed his antlers, Armitage had explained that for Kylo that to properly bring the spring and summer, he was required to spend several months away in Oweynagat.

It was a sombre and solemn return to the forest and the clearing where they first met, and they clung hard to each other, trying to put off their inevitable separation. Kylo exhaled heavily as he pressed kisses to Armitage's face and hair, inhaling the soft botanical scent to carry with him over the winter.

Finally, Armitage pulled away. He cupped Kylo’s face, tracing the pad of his thumb over Kylo’s cheek and promised to return in a few months time. Then he turned and fled into the forest, disappearing from sight and Kylo was forced to make the journey home alone.

The winter months had been hard on Kylo. Short sunless days gave way too quickly to dark and stormy nights. Kylo left for school in the dark and returned home in the dark, the dead and bare flowerbeds of the garden mocking his loss. They had concocted a story that Armitage had to visit his family in the winter months, which wasn’t far off from the truth, but it was still hard to put on a brave face when Rey asks after Armitage.

It couldn’t be much longer, Kylo thinks one day in late March as he’s returning home from school. The days have begun to lighten, the rain and snow have given way to lead-gray skies, but Kylo is certain he feels a change in the air.

Since that first night in the forest, Kylo never again laid eyes on Armitage’s silent acolytes. They had done their duty by uniting them, then they seemed to fade away into memory. But, as Kylo steps off the train one afternoon, he’s almost positive he spies one of the familiar cloaked figures on the opposite platform. In a blink, the figure is gone so Kylo can’t be entirely sure. Later though, he definitely sees the smoking figure stationed across the street from his house, so that gives him some hope.

After a rather gruelling week of exams, Kylo comes home one afternoon ready to sleep for a week. He unlocks the door of the townhouse and is greeted by a gust of fresh spring air and a ribbon of sunlight spooling down the hallway from the garden door. His heart leaps in his chest as he quickly shuts the door behind him, drops his jacket and bag where he stands and all but runs down the hallway to the garden door.

There, crouched by the flowerbeds is Armitage. He looks up at the noise and when he sees Kylo panting on the threshold, a delighted smile blooms bright across his face. He gracefully rises from his crouch and Kylo can see that he’s restored to his former glory - his fire-spun hair is vibrant once more, and he’s lost the ashy pallor from the autumn. He strides towards Kylo, delicate white snowdrops and pretty purple crocuses spring up in the wake of his footsteps.

Kylo opens his arms and Armitage leaps into them, wrapping his long legs around Kylo’s waist, his arms around Kylo’s neck. Kylo squeezes him so tightly that Armitage actually grunts in surprise and Kylo covers his small sob with a laugh.

“Sorry, babe.” He mumbled into Armitage's soft hair, inhaling the much-missed botanical scent. “I didn’t think the winter would ever be over.”

“I came as soon as I could.” Armitage returns his smile, carding his fingers through Kylo’s dark curls.

Kylo sets Armitage carefully on his feet then holds him by the shoulders to take a long, restoring look at him. His hair is shorter now, less shaggy all over but instead trimmed into a fashionable undercut fading to a gentle swoop of hair over his forehead.

“You changed your hair.” He says foolishly, wanting to say everything and nothing at all. “And I like your new antlers.”

Armitage looks pleased as he pats at his hair, sweeping it out of his eyes. Kylo runs his thumb up the velvet of the stubby antlers sprouting from Armitage's head causing Armitage to shiver slightly.

“Shall we to bed, my love?” Armitage glances up nervously from beneath his long lashes, unsure.

Kylo simply nods. Taking Armitage’s hand he leads him from the garden, shutting the door gently behind them. In the bedroom, Armitage’s eager hands help Kylo out of his clothes, leaving them strewn across the floor.

Tumbling back into bed, they take a moment to reacquaint themselves with each other’s body. Kylo wants to cry with how much he missed Armitage’s warm weight beside him each night. When Armitage is panting, Kylo leans over and takes out condoms and lube from the bedside table.

“How do you like it, babe?” He asks, tickling his fingers up Armitage’s neck to caress his cheek.

“On my belly.” He replies, allowing Kylo to carefully turn him over.

Kylo eagerly rips open the condom package, his shaking hands only bobbling it once, then rolls the condom on. He slicks himself up then rubs his thumb gently over the pink furl between Armitage’s generous backside as Armitage arches into his touch with a sigh,

“Ready?” He whispers, suddenly nervous. They had never actually done this before, and they’ve been apart for six months.

Armitage glances over his shoulder, his eyes a deep, glassy green. “I’m ready.” He reaches back to brush his fingertips along Kylo’s arm. “I’m ready, I promise. You won’t hurt me.”

With agonizing slowness, Kylo slides himself home as Armitage pushes back into him with a groan. He leans forward to cover Armitage completely with his own body, sliding his right arm beneath Armitage’s chest to hold him close, his free hand tangles tightly with Armitage’s. As they rock together slowly, hardly moving, each roll of Kylo’s hips pushes small moans and gasps of pleasure from between Armitage’s lips.

Kylo buries his face into Armitage's shoulder, it’s almost too much. Armitage is gripping his hand tightly with his face pressed to the pillow as he sighs out his pleasure, the hair at the nape of his neck growing damp with the exertion of holding himself to the slow place. The heat from his body releases waves upon waves of his botanical scent into the room and Kylo is helpless to it. He flicks his tongue over the dampness at Armitage’s neck.

Armitage turns his head to capture Kylo’s gaze; his lashes are damp with unshed tears and his rosebud lips are pink and plush.

“I love you.” Kylo whispers.

Armitage arches tightly against Kylo and cries out, the tears finally spill from his eyes. “I love you, too.”

\----

Kylo returns to their messy, destroyed bedroom after brushing his teeth. The room is humid and damp, and they’ve torn the bed apart. Pillows were tossed to the floor, blankets piled on the floor like snowdrifts, condom wrappers litter the area beside the night table. Kylo grins to see Armitage curled up dozing in the middle of the bed. His sharp angles and generous curves have a healthy golden glow, peachy ripe and oh so biteable. With his newly shorn hair, Kylo can trail his gaze down Armitage’s swan-like neck, vulnerable and precious.

Sensing he’s being watched, Armitage smiles without opening his eyes.

“Come back to bed, love, I’m cold.”

Kylo obliges by throwing the pillows back onto the bed and pulling up the covers. He crawls in beside Armitage, opening his arms for him. Armitage cuddles close, rubbing his lips over Kylo’s slightly sticky skin.

“Hey,” Kylo tips Armitage’s face up. “Look at this.”

Kylo props himself up on one elbow, pushing down the covers as he moves so that Armitage can see how the bonding marks from their initial meeting have grown over the past year. The gold filigree of knots and woven bands have sprouted up from Kylo’s wrist to cover his forearm, swirl up over his biceps and shoulders and spill down his chest to form a perfect Celtic knot right over his heart. He shifts his body this way and that so that the faint gold lines shimmer slightly in the light. Armitage places his palm over the knot over Kylo’s heart.

“Beautiful.” He whispers reverently.

Kylo snuggles back down into the soft pillows and quilts as Armitage blinks sleepily at him before closing his eyes again.

Armitage insinuates himself into Kylo’s arms, where he belongs, and with eyes still closed, turns his face up for a kiss.

And Kylo does kiss him and kiss him, and never wants to stop.


End file.
